Sugar Addict Rehab

October 25, 2008 By

 

Do you feel like you are constantly craving sweets?

At this time of year especially when sweet treats are everywhere it can seem like you are always waiting for the next hit of sugar.

There isn’t a single cure-all to this problem, but in general, the less sweets you eat, the less you’ll crave them.

Here are a couple of quick tips to help get you there:

· Try to find a substitute– Are you craving a quick afternoon pick-me up? It might be helpful to have something else there and ready to fight off those cravings. Try to stick with things that are naturally sweet instead of those with added sugars.

· Wait out the craving– most cravings will only last a few minutes. Try to keep yourself busy with something else for about 10 minutes. Most likely you’ll forget all about the candy at the front desk.

· Practice delayed gratification– Instead of telling your self you can never have that treat you are craving, tell yourself you can have it in a few hours, every time your time comes up, try to push it out another few hours or even to the next day. Several years ago I delayed myself all the way to a big weight loss. Every time you achieve a goal give yourself a small reward. If you are going by the hours give yourself .50 cents. If you are going to wait a day or two, give yourself a $1 each day. At the end of the month take the cash and treat yourself to a non-food reward.

· Don’t set your self up to fail- If you know the vending machine calls to you daily, don’t keep singles or change around. Pay at the pump for your gas and avoid going inside where you will be tempted by all the unhealthy treats and never ever go shopping hungry. You’ll spend way too much money and you’ll end up with a few irresistible treats in your home.

I know it may seem impossible to do, but you can conquer your sugar habit, but you will need to give it time and real effort.

Once you do you’ll probably lose weight and feel more energetic too.

I’m always here to help

Sarai Jones

Filed Under: Fat loss, Nutrition Tagged With: , , , , ,

Emotion Creates Motion

October 5, 2008 By

 

Can you remember a time when you felt completely discouraged with your body?

It’s easy to beat yourself up when the body that you have is miles from the one you want.

When negative emotions flood over you resist the urge to get down on yourself, rather turn the tides in your favor.

You may have heard the expression ’emotion creates motion’.

This is a very powerful tool. Channel your dissatisfaction with your body into ‘motion’. Take control of your body and put a plan into action.

Need help taking the next step?

email me today!

I’m here to help.

Sarai Jones

Filed Under: Exercise and Fitness, Fat loss, Nutrition Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Delicious Dinner Idea

October 4, 2008 By

 

You can never have too many ideas for a healthy meal.

Check this one out.

Enjoy!

Curried Chicken and Veggies

This chicken and veggie dish is light and delicious. Yogurt and curry flavors blend for an enjoyable new chicken experience. Enjoy it as a tasty lunch or a protein packed dinner.
Servings: 2

Here’s what you need…

  • 5 oz boneless raw chicken breast, diced
  • 1/4 cup chicken broth
  • 4 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 5 cups raw mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 teaspoons olive oil
  • 2 cups red bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cups China peas
  • 1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
  • 2 teaspoons curry powder
  1. Put 2 teaspoons olive oil and the diced chicken in a non-stick pan. Cook chicken until browned, then add chicken broth, yogurt, curry powder and cornstarch, stir constantly. Heat until thick sauce forms, then simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. While chicken is cooking put 2 teaspoons olive oil, mushrooms, bell peppers, and china peas in another non-stick pan. Cook until the vegetables are tender.
  3. Place an equal amount of vegetable on 2 plates and top with equal amounts of chicken.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 373 calories, 13g fat, 35g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, and 32g protein.


Check out my website for more great recipes

Filed Under: Nutrition, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Small changes make a big difference

October 1, 2008 By

 

How many times have you told yourself that you need to lose weight?

I’m not talking about a couple pounds either – I’m talking about 20 or more pounds of extra fat that you’d like to see disappear.

Maybe you are even considering signing up for personal training in the Livermore or Elk Grove area.

I’ve come to notice a trend. Most people psyche themselves out before they ever start losing the weight. It’s as if the enormity of their goal simply puts them into shut down mode, and they give up on the idea entirely.

Has this ever happened to you? You try out a diet or exercise plan for a week or so, and then you get frustrated when your body looks the same as before. So you give up.

Weight loss isn’t a speedy thing. It takes time to gain weight – many people put on weight for years and then expect to lose it in a few weeks or months. It doesn’t work that way.

So instead of pressuring yourself into losing 50 pounds in two months, how about sticking with a realistic, proven way for long term weight loss: Small changes to your lifestyle over time will make the difference.

In practical terms, make it your goal to drop one pound a week.

Now, this may not seem like that much, but if you did this consistently for one year it would result in 50 lbs lost. All it takes are small changes in your daily lifestyle. Let’s break the process down…

How to shed a pound a week: Burn 3500 extra calories.

It really is that simple. Try the following three steps:

  1. Record your normal weekly exercise – look at everything from walking to participating in sports to exercising in the gym. This is your starting point. You need to burn an additional 3500 calories on top of your normal weekly exercise. If you don’t currently exercise, then this step is really easy for you, a simple blank page will do.
  2. Record your normal weekly food intake – this may be hard to do honestly, but remember that you are only cheating yourself by not recording everything. Calculate the total number of calories that you eat in an average day. In your quest for dropping inches you shouldn’t exceed your normal daily caloric intake – you should, rather, work at slowly decreasing that number. Remember, we are going for a 3500 calorie deficit each week – this can be done by a combination of increased calorie exertion (exercise) as well as a decrease in calories consumed (eating less).
  3. Chart the difference – now that you know your starting point for both calorie exertion and calorie intake it is time to turn the tables in your favor. Take every opportunity to exert more calories by increasing your physical activity, and to decrease your calorie consumption by eating fewer calories and by making healthier selections. Record your progress in a notebook and refer back to it often. You will be surprised how encouraging it is to see your progress written down on paper.

Remember, if you burn up 500 calories a day you will drop a pound in a week.

Here are some practical ways to lose calories:

If you normally…
Do this instead…

Drink regular soda pop
Drink water or diet soda pop (160 calories lost)

Eat a snack from a vending machine
Enjoy an apple (180 calories lost)

Hit the snooze button in the AM
Jog for 30 minutes before work (150 calories lost)

Skip your workout
See me for an invigorating workout (changes your life!)

Weight loss doesn’t have to be allusive. Make small changes each and every day toward a healthier, fitter you. Remember that small changes make a big difference.

I’m always here to help –

Sarai Jones
email me today!

Filed Under: Exercise and Fitness, Fat loss, Nutrition Tagged With: , , , , ,

Flexible Spending = Massage

September 20, 2008 By

 

A massage is always a good idea. Any excuse will do.

One of my boot campers forwarded this message to me about using you flexible spending dollars for massage therapy. It sounds like a perfect way to put those use it or lose it dollars to work.

Now this is from a specific massage chain but the rules apply no matter where you choose to get our rub down.

check it out and enjoy!

Sarai Jones

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The end of summer always signals a switch in schedules. It seems as if things suddenly go from slow-and-lazy summer to full-speed-ahead fall. As your me-time gets more scarce, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to your health. That includes eating right, exercising, getting plenty of sleep and getting regular massages to help keep your stress at a healthy level.
While we can’t help cross many of the tasks off your to-do list, we do have good news. This is likely the time of year when your flexible spending account (FSA) is soon approaching the closing date. If you still have money to spend, don’t forget that massage therapy is an eligible expense. And since FSAs have a "use it or lose it" policy, you have a great reason to move massage a priority in your schedule.

While the health and wellness benefits of regular massage are many, not all massages qualify for your pre-tax FSA dollars. Based on federal tax code, a qualified expense "must be to alleviate or prevent a physical or mental defect or illness." Massage is a frequently endorsed component in the treatment and prevention of a number of conditions. For starters, by lowering your heart rate and blood pressure, relaxing muscles and increasing endorphins, massage can aid in releasing stress, which is a leading contributor to a number of health conditions. It also can help naturally boost your immune system leading to fewer illnesses.

The news about massage is also good for migraine sufferers because massage has been shown to decrease headache frequency and reduce sleep disturbances, as well as reduce the chances of stress-induced headaches.

Additionally, recent research shows that massage therapy can help those who have insomnia, chronic pain, depression and anxiety, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and fibromyalgia, and is beneficial for people recovering from surgery.

Ready to use up your FSA dollars on a massage? Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Talk to your medical practitioner (any healthcare provider who can write a prescription). A prescription for massage is required for your therapy to count as a qualified medical expense.
  2. Double-check the prescription. It should contain three pieces of information: Length of treatment, duration, reason for prescribing massage therapy.
  3. Schedule an appointment at Massage Envy. Although you will not have to bring your prescription to the clinic for your appointment, be sure to hang on to it.
  4. Keep all receipts for your records. Even though an expense is approved, you could still get audited by the Internal Revenue Service. To avoid problems, keep your written prescription and your FSA debit or credit card statement or other type of receipt that shows what you spent on the massage therapy.

If you don’t have an FSA, ask your Human Resources contact about your options and consider signing up for this benefit during your company’s next open-enrollment period.

Filed Under: Exercise and Fitness, Mental Health Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Negative Body Image In Women- Our Final Steps

July 21, 2008 By

 

Have you been looking at things with a more critical eye?

It’s hard to let go of the dream isn’t it?

Even when that dream holds us down or makes us feel bad.

We strive and strive and can never seem to look like that girl in the magazine but when we are told it is all an illusion we just can’t get our brains to believe it.

Keep working on it. This doesn’t happen overnight.

Today let’s go over our last two steps to help us achieve a better image of ourselves.

Step 4

Just the facts

Describe yourself to yourself but not in the emotional self-hating way we have ingrained in us.

Instead of I have mousy brown hair state the actual facts: I have light brown hair.

Instead of I have these ugly wrinkles around my eyes say what they really are: I have 3 lines around my eyes that are about ½” long.

If you talk about your looks without the extra emotional loading, it leads to greater self acceptance.

Step 5

Dress the part

Steal a secret from the pro’s, wear only what is flattering to you, what plays up the good parts from your “likeable” list and makes you feel good about the way you look.

Don’t wear things just because they are hot right now. If it pinches, bulges or does any otherwise less than flattering things to your body, leave it on the rack.

One of the reasons the stars always look so good is because they only wear what makes the best of their assets.

Every time you see them all you notice is how great their arms are, or their legs, or how great of a smile they have.

By diverting attention away from the negative you only see the positive.

It works like a charm for them. Give it a try.

I have taken several posts to discuss this issue because I’m really passionate about it.

Every day I speak with women who spend the first 20 minutes of our meetings telling me every negative thing about themselves in very unkind detail and I wonder would they ever talk to a friend that way?

Look outside your own mirror.

How you see yourself and how others see you when they look at you are usually miles apart.

Think of your best friend. What is one thing she is constantly complaining about in regards to her looks? Do you see it the same way? Do you think she is making a big deal over nothing?

Now look at yourself. Are you doing it too?

Your negative body image probably doesn’t reflect what other people see.

Keep improving

No I’m not talking about "fixing" things, I’m talking about taking actions in your life everyday that make you feel proud of who you are.

Get involved in a regular workout routine like Booty Boot Camp, change just one thing about your diet over the next 30 days, take the time to value your body as much as your mind. It is not a prisoner on this journey of life; it is the only vessel you have to get you through this thing called life. Treat it well.

Soon we are going to talk about the changes you are going to make in the next 30 days.

Yep YOU!

Stay tuned

Sarai Jones

Filed Under: Exercise and Fitness, Mental Health Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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